


soft like starsilk

by LunaChi_KuroShihone



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alpha Katsuki Yuuri, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, Beta Victor Nikiforov, Bonding, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Nesting, Omega Verse, Omega Victor Nikiforov, Pampering, Possessive Katsuki Yuuri, Power Dynamics, Sad Victor Nikiforov, Scent Marking, Scenting, Supportive Katsuki Yuuri, YOI Omegaverse Week, but no actual mpreg, in the last chapter, this is a rollercoaster ride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-24 18:02:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19728898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaChi_KuroShihone/pseuds/LunaChi_KuroShihone
Summary: (...)Viktor's blood had run cold when he'd opened it, the letter on his table a collaboration between the Russian Omega Centre, the International Athletics department and the St. Petersburg Civil Registry, that had told Viktor, in no uncertain terms, that he had been put on a waiting list for willing alphas to take care and look after him. The RSF was loathe to let him go, it had written, and so they had come to an agreement with the ROC that, as long as Viktor kept winning and making the country proud, they would overlook the fact that he was presented and unbonded.Viktordidn'tneed to open the letter to know that it would be different, knew that his spiteful and passive-aggressive protest against some of last season's judging and preference would be unwelcome, but still. The bright orange of the Omega Centre was a pain to look at, but Viktor still opened the letter carefully, hoping against all odds that it was only a reprimand for not beingomegaenough, as some of the associates and doctors had put.Later that day he called Yakov, regretfully informing his coach that a suitable mate had been chosen in an arrangement with International Athletics who would compliment Viktor's nature.





	1. Day 1 - Arranged Marriage

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I'm attempting my hand at Omegaverse, and what was supposed to be fluffy and cute turned into... angst. Well. It happens to the best of us, no? It'll be a small story with each chapter for each prompt until chapter/day seven, which will be a what-if scenario, so I'll hope that you'll like it!
> 
> ((also, this is so purely self-indulgent like _whoa_

There was an innocuous letter laying on Viktor's table, heaped on top of his other mail he'd just picked up. It was an unassuming white envelope, signed by the ROC and his skating federation, a polite inquiry that they always sent him, every year since he's presented at eighteen -- rather late for an omega, even, his body growing into lean, corded muscle and intimidating height believed to belong to an alpha and later beta, not omega. It had been scary, the day he'd woken up with bile rising in his throat as his body rebelled against his relief of being a beta, as it betrayed him by cloying the air in his apartment in thick scent.

Viktor had called Yakov, frantic, and the old beta had rushed over and they had gone to the doctor, and Viktor's secondary gender was affirmed and then unceremoniously stamped into his medical record, and Viktor had been given pills and contraceptives and a crash-course on preparing for his first heat, had to restructure his training to fit the new, almost monthly occurrences.

Viktor had hated it with a passion, then, especially how his second season in Seniors went, compared to the previous. His heat had evened out into a normal cycle by the middle of the season, thankfully, only coming every three or four months, and Viktor had been left alone for the rest of that infernal year, until the RSF had sent him that first letter.

Viktor's blood had run cold when he'd opened it, the letter a collaboration between the Russian Omega Centre, the International Athletics department and the St. Petersburg Civil Registry, that had told Viktor, in no uncertain terms, that he had been put on a waiting list for willing alphas to take care and look after him. The RSF was loathe to let him go, it had written, and so they had come to an agreement with the ROC that, as long as Viktor kept winning and making the country proud, they would overlook the fact that he was presented and unbonded.

It had been an ultimatum if Viktor ever saw one, and so he put his all into the following season, and the one after that, but it seemed like it hadn't been enough.

Viktor _didn't_ need to open the letter to know that it would be different, knew that his spiteful and passive-aggressive protest against some of last season's judging and preference would be unwelcome, but still. The bright orange of the Omega Centre was a pain to look at, but Viktor still opened the letter carefully, hoping against all odds that it was only a reprimand for not being _omega_ enough, as some of the associates and doctors had put.

Later that day he called Yakov, regretfully informing his coach that a suitable mate had been chosen in an arrangement with International Athletics who would compliment Viktor's nature. The skater wasn't disillusioned enough to think that this was anything but an arranged union between some strong, virile alpha, a former athlete who was past his prime and probably twice Viktor's age, whose sheer _alpha_ was so overwhelming that it would be easy to fuck babies into Viktor, despite his own low potency -- it had been found out that, while his heat was proceeding quite regular, the late presentation meant that Viktor would probably be unable to bear children, something his country was more than displeased with. He'd need a particularly virile and potent alpha, he was told, but not to worry, as everything would be found for him.

Viktor was half tempted to just up and _leave,_ but that wouldn't be feasible either. And it was so unfair, that he had to deal with the Omega Centre and everything, only because he was a representative of the city, a ward, an extension. Most artist or athletes were -- or people ( _omegas_ , his mind whispered) who needed money and knew no alternative. It was a terrible system, old and left over from days of war, but one the rich and elite loved to exploit.

Still. _International Athletics._ It was a small victory at least, because it meant that he'd pissed off his own government enough that they choose to send him to someone out-of-country, because no-one _in the country_ would want someone like him. Any child he'd bear would still be seen as Russian until it was old enough to choose if it was beta or alpha; if his hypothetical future child was omega, though, it'd be a ward of the country, like himself.

* * *

Viktor's arranged match (the Omega Centre called it a perfect marriage, at which Viktor had to scoff, repeatedly, until they silenced him with glares) was living in Japan and was, as they had _demurred_ to respond, a skater as well. The only Japanese skaters Viktor knew who were registered alphas were all either dead or _horrendously_ old, and fear settled low in his gut.

This match was as much a political move as any he'd ever seen, though, maybe even with a hefty sum of money from the old alpha to ensure they'd get matched; it wasn't exactly unheard of. No matter how Viktor spun it, though, he knew that he was supposed to act like the typical omega, dainty and acquiescing and stored away in a home where he was to sit and look pretty, not out on the ice and winning medals. He was still a registered skater, but that was a formality more than anything else; Viktor had never seen an omega who had been whisked away from his sport make it back, only ever heard how they'd gotten pregnant and been reduced to nothing but birthing machines in Russia, an open secret all omegas knew and feared.

And Viktor had been instructed -- had been forced and manhandled and even _drugged;_ indoctrinated into behaving pretty and looking pretty and looking like an omega ready to bear children, and his protests had stopped when the people from the Centre had warned him that there was no guarantee that no harm would come to his loved ones: to Yakov and Lilia, who could get their licenses removed, to Gosha who had evaded all of it by being a beta as their coaches were, to sweet and young and new Mila, who was promised to not be put on any sort of list, were she to present as omega or alpha, as long as Viktor would do what his new husband (or match, or whatever) wanted.

Viktor had glared at them but nodded, defeated, obediently getting off of his contraceptive and blockers, taking medication that softened his body all over, that was supposed to help him with fertility and probably did that, his chest becoming slightly more pronounced.

(When that had started happening, Viktor had asked what was going on, and his doctor had told him that the dosage he'd been prescribed would occasionally cause female omegas to grow a cup or two, and Viktor had been horrified and managed to weasel out a weaker dose on the grounds that _maybe my alpha wouldn't like it_.)

And now here Viktor stood, over four months after he'd gotten the letter, after spending one month outpatient of the overseas facility and two as an inpatient being indoctrinated, in a sterile room with the blush of his pre-heat and his pheromones and scent unhindered by any blockers, more scared than he'd ever been. Viktor felt so little like himself and so much like _omega_ that it was scary, the words of his primary handler echoing through his ears as the door to the room opened and the woman stepped inside, a collar in her hand. _An omega is nothing without their alpha,_ she'd whisper. _An omega is weak. An omegas purpose in life is to bear pups for their alpha._

Viktor had listened, just as he was listening to her talking now, with the mantra of _I am a human being and this is demeaning,_ but her words stung, as always. The collar was fastened around his neck, the cage that would clip his wings and tell the whole world that Viktor Nikiforov is an owned omega, _how could he have never said anything on television?_

And then a woman entered, smelling strongly of angered alpha, and a boy -- a teenager, by the looks of him -- behind her, his brown eyes wide in astonished wonder. The woman grimaced as she laid eyes on Viktor, halted so abruptly in her steps that she froze on the spot, and the boy took a slow step forward, hands trembling, scent acrid and bitter. Viktor's handler pushed him towards the boy and Viktor knelt down in one fluid motion, his forehead on the ground and spine arching in a perfect form. He knew his own scent must've been as bitter as the boys -- his alpha, his mind screeched. He hadn't expected his alpha to be younger than himself.

Still, an alpha was an alpha, and if there was something Viktor had learned in his time in the Omega Centre, then it was the fact that even such an unassuming frame could hold strengt and temper far more dangerous than anything Viktor's ever experienced before. And then the alpha laid his hand on the crown of Viktor's head, and the omega felt his whole body grow flushed at the contact, his pre-heat making his mind fuzzy with pleasure and then with shame.

"I accept," the alpha said.

And his fate was sealed.


	2. Day 2: Scents/Marking

Viktor would be lying if he said that he hadn't expected to be mistreated to some extent or another, or even emotionally manipulated into doing things as he was in the Centre. The reality couldn't be further from the truth, though, because his alpha -- Yuuri Katsuki, Junior Worlds gold medalist two years in a row, presented as an alpha with sixteen, now seventeen and technically in his last Juniors season, though he opted to leave the Grand Prix series out, after he had been informed that he'd been chosen as an match for some omega -- was a sweet and genuinely caring person, as their first day together had shown.

The older alpha, Minako Okukawa, whom Viktor had heard about courtesy of Lilia's ballet fame, had been accompanying Yuuri for emotional and physical support, and even now she was gripping the steering wheel of the small van they were all inside in anger. _"Those fuckers"_ She glanced at Viktor through the rearview mirror, and he quirked his lips in a sad smile, the emotional exhaustion and his imminent heat finally taking a toll on his body. He's had half a mind of asking Yuuri if he was allowed to doze off in the car before his eyes slipped shut of their own accord, and he only woke again when a hand touched his shoulder carefully.

"Viktor," the voice said, "Viktor come on, wake up."

Viktor stirred and mumbled something and snuggled closer to the hand, and then the voice huffed, and Viktor succumbed to the darkness once more.

* * *

He woke up with a start, glancing around the room in alarm, noting that he was sleeping in a soft bed with heaps of pillows and blankets and Viktor whined, mind too hazy to figure out what was going on. Then a door opened, and soft light filtered into the room, his alpha standing in the doorway, blush high on his cheeks at the pheromones Viktor must've released -- his heat wasn't that far away now, it seemed, only a day or less.

"How are you feeling, Viktor?"

Cautious, Viktor lowered his eyes, lectures upon lectures unwillingly finding root in his actions. "Much better. Thank you, alpha."

Yuuri made a strangled noise. "Hey, um. Can I come into the room?"

Viktor nodded, silently wondering why he shouldn't be allowed. It was a nicely decorated room, if a little sparse, and there was no doubt in his addled mind that this had to be Yuuri's room. So color him surprised when he'd said next, after sitting down at the edge of Viktor's bed: "This is your room, you know? Mine's right across the door, and my parents and sister sleep down the hall. My mom made you soup if you're hungry, and I can get it for you if you want."

Viktor felt something painful in his chest. "Thank you for your generosity, alpha."

Yuuri stared at him, pity and guilt in his eyes, and lifted a hand towards Viktor's own, taking hold of it and squeezing it lightly. "Hey, no. I, uh- you don't have to call me alpha. I'm Yuuri, yes. Uh." He took a deep breath and continued. "I can't imagine what happened to you, but please trust me when I say that we wont hurt you or, well. Do anything to you that makes you feel uncomfortable, yes?"

* * *

The following days and weeks were spent in an unbalanced equilibrium, Viktor feeling more like a tourist or even, dare he say it, family member than an owned omega, even if he spent much of that time inside of the onsen, courtesy of omega regulation laws, as if he were a new housecat and not a thinking person. Still, he was under strict supervision, an associate of the Omega Centre checking up on him twice a week to make sure that Viktor was being obedient and not an embarrassment to Russia. Yuuri and his family liked it about as much as he did, especially after they had checked up on him after his lonesome heat, Yuuri using not Viktor's willing body but offering him comfort with his presence. That didn't sit right with the associate and so she had Viktor show Yuuri what a beautiful and obedient omega he could be, Viktor's stomach churning at the way he was presented and paraded around and then harshly berated for not being a better omega until Yuuri had snapped and told her to leave, turning to Viktor and holding him and muttering apologies and releasing a soft and comforting scent into the air.

Today had been the last mandatory visit of the associate (a different beta this time), accompanied by a doctor who had upped his prescription for the fertility medication once again, and Viktor was left feeling dirty and used by how the medical professional had touched Viktor's body and probed him in places Viktor had no desire to be probed. Yuuri had been sent outside, not able to protest the man, but the second they were gone (the doctor fondly cupping Viktor's chest and saying that his body finally looked worthy of his status as an omega), Yuuri barged in, his scent distressed even under the masking soap he was using, due to not being allowed to use the scent blockers, as Viktor.

"What happened?"

Viktor shuddered, unmoored, as his alpha scented the living room and then cooped up Viktor in his arms. Viktor trembled, momentarily repulsed by his own body, by the hands that had touched it, before he buried his nose in Yuuri's neck near his scent gland and _breathed,_ willing himself to calm down.

"I already miss the ice," is what Viktor simply replied, more honest to both of them than he had been since he arrived, since Yuuri had said that he was free to live his life as he liked, as soon as the Omega Centre stopped supervising their every move. And while it was kind of Yuuri to say that, the truth was that he owned Viktor, on paper and thus legally binding, and Viktor would never have any freedom again. He had resigned himself to simply help around the onsen, maybe watch Yuuri and give him pointers while his alpha would compete.

And then Yuuri furrowed his brows and leaned back, looking Viktor square in the eye. "They didn't let you take your skates with you, did they? Now that the… "probation" is over, you can ask your coach to mail them here? You aren't allowed out of the country for prolonged periods of time without me without getting into trouble for it, or I'd... uh." Yuuri blinked. "Viktor?"

Viktor blinked as well, shocked. "You- you'd let me back on the ice?" The alpha looked at him quizzically, so Viktor elaborated. "You'd let me compete even though I'm an omega?"

And then Yuuri understood and his expression grew soft again, and he took Viktor's hand and squeezed. "Of course I'm not taking you from the ice. Or from contact with your family in Russia. As far as I'm concerned you could go back to Russia and simply live your life, but we both know that that's not allowed, but. I mean. There's an ice rink in Hasetsu, and my rinkmates' family owns it, and you're free to skate with us, if you'd like. And I don't really have a coach, but Minako-sensei would be more than happy to help you -- n-not that you need it, but."

Viktor sniffed. This was so much better than he'd imagined his life to be. Maybe its not as much a cage as a habitat, then, a grand space Viktor can walk in that has its limits. There was one other thing Viktor would very much want to get, though. "Can I... I also have a poodle -- she's bigger than Vicchan, so I wasn't sure if -- but can Makkachin stay here as well?"

Yuuri did something unexpected, then. He blushed a bright, bright red. "I'm going to regret mentioning this, I think, but Vicchan? That's short for Viktor -- be prepared to be called that by my mother, now that all of the tension is more or less over, by the way."

Viktor blinked again, his own face heating up as he burrowed it back in Yuuri's neck. _"You named your dog after me?"_ It was a high-pitched mumble, and Yuuri's scent spiked with his embarrassment, but Viktor ignored that, simply closed his eyes and went lax, knowing that despite the excessive scenting Yuuri had done to the room, the man would never dare scent or mark Viktor without his consent (unlike the Centre or even the doctor), something warm and bubbly settling in his gut at the feeling of _safeness_.

_I could grow to love you,_ he thought _._


	3. Day 3: possessive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm honestly blown away by the response to this fic, I'm happy that you all seem to like it! This chapter kinda fits loosely into 'possessive', but I tried my best. This was my favorite chapter to write, and from here on out things get less, uh, depressingly sad and more hopeful.

It hurt Yuuri, to see how timid Viktor Nikiforov had become after being in the Omega Centre, how his autonomy and free will had been stripped away by the damned place. To think, that Viktor had expected to never skate again, or to never see his rinkmates and friends and family from Russia again -- as if _Yuuri_ could take him from the ice, even for a second.

As soon as the associates had been gone, Viktor had called Coach Yakov, and Yuuri had never seen the stoic man look so distraught and disheveled as he did that day, worrying over Viktor from a continent away.

Yakov would make a terrifying alpha with how he growled at Yuuri, but Yuuri let him, promising to do everything he could to make Viktor's forced stay as comfortable as possible.

He told Yuuko and Nishigori the truth -- only them, though, and certainly none of their classmates or friends; as far as Hasetsu was concerned, Viktor was one of Yuuri's skater friends slash Yuuri's handsome new boyfriend who escaped an abusive relationship. The rumor wasn't helped along by how Viktor clung to Yuuri when they tentatively ventured outside, both back on suppressants and scent blockers after going almost two months with only masking soap, Viktor's neck free of that collar he was brought in with. Slowly but surely the old Viktor Nikiforov was returning, blossoming through this past half year of turmoil, and Yuuri loved seeing him take his first steps back onto the ice, seeing the tentative joy that spread across his features.

Neither of them would compete in this season, their circumstances too complicated to truly focus on any routine they could've had, Viktor not sure if he could skate for Russia again after what they had forced him to go through.

And then Viktor met Yuuko and Viktor met Nishigori, both smiling at him and helping him out with learning Japanese while Yuuri would finish his last year of school, and Viktor would help Yuuri's mother cook and help Mari fold towels and Yuuri's father would ask him to watch the game on TV, all five of them betas and making Viktor feel at ease, and the Russian settled into some sort of normalcy in their home, so seamlessly that Yuuri barely noticed it until he woke up one morning to find out that Viktor had gone to the beach on a run with Makkachin and Vicchan.

Viktor in Hasetsu was a dream come true were it not for the very real nightmare of _how_ and _why_ it had happened, and around the five month mark of his stay, the omega grew increasingly antsy and worried, glancing into Yuuri's direction and then not, his distressing scent seeping through the suppressants. On the day Viktor had started touching Yuuri in what amounted to desperation as they were soaking in the onsen it had hit Yuuri, quite suddenly, that Viktor was overdue his heat by a month, and that Yuuri's rut would start sometime next week.

"Oh." He'd said, aloud, and then proceeded to gently pry Viktor off him, as distressed at the omegas behavior as at his own slip of mind. "We don't have to," Yuuri had said, because the process of disentangling their feeling in regards to their relationship was still ongoing, and Yuuri knew that they would regret if they did something as foolish; could tell that Viktor did this now more out of a sense of obligation as Yuuri's omega that desire.

(And he _hated_ how a small part of him preened every time Yuuri thought of Viktor as _his,_ how he thought of being that incredible omega's alpha.)

Viktor had shuddered and nodded, eyeing Yuuri in that unsure way of his when he didn't quite know what he was supposed to do now. "But I see you talk to Yuuko and the newborns, Yuuri. Wouldn't you like to have children? I'm taking prescribed fertility _enhan--"_

That was as far as Viktor got, before Yuuri stared at him, incredulously. "You're doing _what?!"_

Viktor had never once shown interest in having children (and Yuuri thanked God for it), and seemed to actively shy away from the triplets, standing around uselessly whenever they had to look after the two-months-old babies for a second or two. The omega shrugged, eyes vacant. "I'm almost infertile, you know, because I presented so late, and so the doctor gave me the medicine to make sure that I'd be able to bear children for my alpha. Which is why, now that I think of it, it is a pretty bad idea for me to start skating again, I guess. If I stress my body any more, I might become completely barren."

"But," and Yuuri dreaded to ask, "do you want to?"

A surge of anger coursed through Yuuri's veins, white-hot and all encompassing, at the thought of Viktor doing something he didn't want to do -- his silence was telling, or the way he hunched into himself. _To think…_ Yuuri choose his next words carefully. "Viktor, I wont… see you as any _less_ , if you won't spend your next heat or my rut with me -- _any_ heat or rut, even, _I don't care about that_. If you can say that you want to; really, really want to for your own sake and not anyone else's, then yes, I'd love to spend my rut or your heat together. I don't expect you to… I don't know, change who you are, only to fit into this stupid and archaic role of the perfect omega -- I don't want you to destroy your body; I know what fertility enhancers do to someone if taken over a too-long period of time, and I can guess- well, actually. I _know_ how proud you are of your physique, you spoke about it in a magazine once, before you presented."

Yuuri glanced at Viktor, who had gone very still and very silent, blue eyes boring into Yuuri's. "If you want to, we can go to my doctor first thing tomorrow morning and get you off the medication. I care too much about you to see you suffer any longer."

The night air had grown less clear, fog descending down on the two athletes, Yuuri waiting silently for Viktor's answer.

"So you don't… you don't want children from me?" Viktor's voice was small, and he'd curled up in the water, his chin resting on his knees, and Yuuri's heart went out to him and he opened his arms and Viktor crawled into them, curling around Yuuri's midsection and burying his nose against Yuuri's chest.

"Before I answer the question, can you tell me your own answer in all honesty?"

Viktor exhaled but did as was told. "I've never seen myself as the kind of person, no. Even before I presented I knew I'd never want any -- I'm hopeless around them. But then I presented as omega, and suddenly I'm supposed to be the one carrying whatever hypothetical child I'll have, and then birth it and care for it. In Russia, because of the Centre, that is as good as death -- my purpose as an omega is to bear children. The only good omega is a pregnant omega, they say. I don't want any, so I'm not a good omega." He squeezed Yuuri. "But, I think, if it is with you, then maybe I could weather it. Just please, not yet?"

Yuuri squeezed back, something harsh and dark entering his voice as he curled around Viktor, neither of them shy of their nakedness. "The more I hear you talking about the Centre in Russia, the less I like it." He hissed. "I will never, ever let you go through something horrific like that ever again, do you hear me? I honestly don't care about ever having children -- maybe in the future, when I've given my all to the ice and retired, but certainly not now. And I'll never force you. So never force yourself, please."

Yuuri could feel as Viktor moved and the alpha turned as well, his grip never slacking, until the omega was practically sitting in his lap, Viktor's forehead leaning against Yuuri's cheek. "Then what kind of omega should I be for you? I'm not sure what role I should fill."

"Simply be yourself, Viktor; that is the kind of omega I'd like to see you become. Be true to yourself without any pretense or mask or lie -- I don't want any of that."

Viktor hummed, overwhelmed, as both stared at the fog touching down on the water and curling, and it was a while before Viktor answered, previous turmoil but a distant echo. "I'd like to get contraceptives before my heat starts, then. I don't know if our cycles will align, but if they do -- I don't think I can, yet." He took a deep breath. "And I'd like to have a talk with your doctor about the fertility enhancers; I don't want to take them anymore, they do things to my body."

Yuuri hugged them tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's so many fics out there that, I guess, romanticize the omega getting pregnant and having a child, and always wanting a child? And I find that great, but then I thought to myself: most of those (male) omegas were essentially betas until they presented, no? and then suddenly having this burden of being expected of getting pregnant is thrust at them, as if their personal feelings don't matter anymore, now that they're omega, or its the only thing they can think about, which always struck me as strange, to be honest.
> 
> what if the male omega never wants to have children? suddenly he's rejecting his role and is being bad, and I might be projecting my own feelings into this, but its not something that I've read much about.
> 
> ... that's basically the reason this exists, actually. haha.  
> Also, also, another source of inspiration for this was a short horror film by Alter called [The Herd](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeyHBNodwOk&has_verified=1)


	4. Day 4: Nesting/Pampering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> watch me boot my laptop up and upload this in the ten minutes I have left before having to rush to the train, haha

Their cycles didn't align, surprisingly; Yuuri's rut started as expected, but they had found out that Viktor had been under so much stress after his last heat that it destabilized his cycle. Yuuri's doctor -- Hatori-san, who was an elderly lady working with every generation of Katsuki that was still present in Hasetsu, and had a no-nonsense attitude towards Yuuri's destructive habit of overworking himself, and had mainly contributed to Yuuri's decision to go to America for college and skating because of the progressive attitude towards mental health (which was something he'd still need to talk about with Viktor) -- was appalled at what Viktor told her, in the confines of the four walls of the medical room, Yuuri's hand a comforting weight on Viktor's tight.

Her reaction had surprised Viktor, considering most of what he'd told her was comparatively known in Russia, the country harboring one of the lowest omega-to-alpha-and-beta rates the world. The excessive fertility program was to ensue heathy successors of the alpha's businesses.

Hatori-san put Viktor back on contraceptives and took him off of the enhancer, warning him that it was possible that whatever changes had occurred to his body might stay that way, but reassured both him and Yuuri that he'd be able to gain his former muscle mass back with a rigorous training regime. She also cautioned Viktor that he might look into special suppressants if he was that uncomfortable, once they had gone to America. "But not earlier, because your body has been under a lot of stress lately. Or maybe even jump over the border and look in Canada, or visit Germany if you can. There's loopholes in place for such things."

As a parting gift the kind lady had given Viktor a herbal tea that would work wonders against stomach cramps and told them to come back after Viktor has had his heat. Once they were inside the Katsuki home, Viktor beelined for his room, now decked out with some stuff he's had Yakov and Gosha send over, and he buried himself in his bed, two dogs piling around him as Yuuri entered and closed the door behind himself.

"I might have forgotten to mention that I had planned to go to America, huh?"

Viktor shook his head, still not emerging from his cocoon of blankets and pillows. He wasn't even close to his pre-heat, but he felt the need to nest already. "I understand why," came the muffled reply. "At the level you're at, you'd want to find a professional coach to train you, and the only coach who has current free slots and who lives close enough to Canada is Cialdini, if I remember correctly. I know he takes on many skaters he's met over summer camps in Juniors."

Yuuri nodded. "He came to me last Worlds and asked me point-black if I'd wanted to come train under him after I finished school. I'd be attending the local University too, so that's a plus. And Detroit is next to Canada, so my healthcare would also be taken care of."

"Mn."

Yuuri sighed. "I had planned on telling you, but it honestly slipped my mind. Are you all right with it?"

Viktor detangled himself from the blanket, smiling at Yuuri's question. "I don't mind, Yuuri. It's great that you want to continue studying -- god knows I never did."

He never had the chance to go to university, being pulled out of the school system the second his talent was found. There had never been time for it, only for the ice. His alpha was eyeing Viktor in that specific way again, the one that seemed to read his mind, because Yuuri's next words were like balm on his soul. "You know, it's never too late; you could still register and get accepted -- it's not like... well. It's not like I can simply leave you here or let you go to Russia." His gaze turned pensive. "I guess we could, though."

Vitor blinked. "What?"

"We could go to Russia, if you'd like. I could find a university there, and a rink to skate at."

Not even ten weeks ago, Viktor might've said yes. But now, with the words of Hatori-san echoing through his skull, Viktor wanted _answers._ "No; I'd love to go back to Yakov and the others -- and he'd take you in, trust me, your step sequences are amazing, Yuuri, you _broke my Junior Worlds record with them --_ but I can't… the country. I don't think I can go back to the country, yet. Or come face to face with the Omega Centre. How long does it take to graduate?"

"Four years, if everything goes well--"

"And we'd be leaving in half a year, so in roughly five years, if you'd like to, yes. Not yet though."

Yuuri nodded, his body soft and non-confrontational. "Okay. We'd have to ask Celestino if he'd be all right with taking you in as well, and we won't be able to keep any pets in the dorms, but once we're there we can look for a pet-friendly apartment -- I think I was supposed to room together with another skater, so we'd be three…"

Viktor's face lit up in amusement and a chuckle found its way past his lips at Yuuri's ramblings, the thoughtfulness his alpha showed giving what was little choice on either of their part a homey spin, as if they were partners or friends or even lovers starting a new chapter in their lives. "You know, Yuuri, any money that I had, or funds or anything, should be officially joined to your own bank account."

Yuuri stopped mid-rambling, eyes wide. "Wait, what?"

Viktor shrugged. "I'm your property, so whatever I owned belongs to you now. Including money."

Yuuri swore.

* * *

They were unable to look into the matter any further as Yuuri's rut hit him the next day, and he'd blushingly sequestered himself in his room, leaving Viktor with a mixture of guilt and relief behind, the Russian omega free to wander around the onsen and town and to do whatever he'd like for the next three days.

He'd ended up helping Hiroko cook in the morning of the first day while she'd told him stories of Yuuri as a small child, to the delight of Viktor, affectionately calling him _human Vicchan_ or _Vikkun_ whenever she tried to get his attention. After that he visited Minako, both of them exchanging tales about Lilia and ballet and whatnots, Viktor leaving well into the evening to say a quick hello to Takeshi at the rink and then hurry home, where he'd been fed and then sent to the onsen and his room to rest, two dogs piled on top of him.

The next day he'd called Yakov, telling him of their future plan, once again reaffirming that Viktor was feeling perfectly fine given the circumstances, and he reminded Yakov in low and hushed tones that he could've gotten a way worse end of the stick, as far as registered alphas went. Both shuddered at the thought, and then Gosha and Mila and even Lilia talked to him, all four of them promising to visit Viktor as soon as possible. Viktor knew the first competition of the season had been a month ago, knew that there had been confusion and outcry as his absence had been noticed (as Yuuri's absence had been noticed from the Junior Circuit by one Christophe Giacometti and one Phichit Chulanont, both betas, both coming to the same conclusion at unrelated times, with different reactions to it).

The connection between Viktor going missing except for one or another enigmatic tweet and Yuuri Katsuki dropping out of what should have been easy gold at his last Juniors competitions will be made around their respective nationals, still over a month away, and the media outcry will be fantastic and unexpected. In the days to come, they will be used as the peak example of the Omega Centre's success in pairing together alpha and omega, and they will be lauded by those supporting it and similar facilities, and they will refrain from commenting about it until they have set foot in Detroit and the internet will go wild at the news of not a baby bump but a new season for both skaters, with the backing of the Russian and Japanese skating federations as well as countless coaches and friends. They will have to weather the insults thrown at them, and the ridicule and the questions of the stupid about their secondaries, but they will, like a phoenix or a firebird, rise from the ashes in triumph and paint the Omega Centre and its associated facilities in their true light, and the forced arrangement as not something romantic but something tragic and terrific.

But until then, Viktor still has to find it in himself to love his body, and Yuuri has to find it in himself to love himself, and they have to weather the last day of Yuuri's rut and Viktor's upcoming heat.

* * *

_And the thing about this heat is,_ Viktor thought, as he rearranged his pillows and cushions and duvets around his bed, feeling rather silly and much like the dogs, not finding _any goddamn place for this useless shirt, gah-!_

Viktor was being pampered by Yuuri, smothered in affection and touch and care like never before; the alpha making sure that Viktor's every need was met without overstepping their boundaries. It was incredibly sweet -- from the second Yuuri emerged from his room on the evening of the third day, hair a disheveled mess and _oozing_ sexual satisfaction and his scent reminiscent of morning dew on freshly cut grass, Yuuri had walked into Viktor's hug and then simply not stopped with physical contact, almost as if sensing that Viktor would go into pre-heat barely three days after. Before even Viktor did, really.

"That's such a great nest, Viktor."

Viktor rumbled an appreciative sound, still holding the shirt in his hand. He'd love to ask Yuuri for one of his own, but was unsure if he really should -- it was the only thing missing from the nest, Viktor felt sure of it. He didn't want to overstep, was scared of either scaring Yuuri away or inciting his alpha rage, and so he simply kept silent as he looked at his nest, with that one shirt in hand. It still felt strange to Viktor, even after almost four years of being an omega, to do such a thing. His brain would probably forever think so, wired as it was to being essentially a beta; there were many things he found he did almost quite the same, or at least similar enough to the Katsukis, or to his rinkmates or to Chris, simply from being surrounded for years by the quite common secondary. It was not something that could be easily forgotten, and it was this side of him that looked at his nest and wondered, not for the first time, why it was needed to be built.

Or how anyone could find the mess appealing, really.

But then Yuuri dropped something into Viktors lap, and the omega stared at it until his focus returned and he'd noticed that it was Yuuri's Team Japan jacket, and Viktor blinked, mouth dropping open in surprise. "Oh."

He glanced at Yuuri, who was once again blushing like mad (and why was the alpha so cute every time it happened? It should be illegal), nonetheless looking quite pleased with himself. "I thought you might like that."

Viktor very much did, jumping into action by throwing that damned shirt out of the nest and rearranging some of the pillows so that Yuuri's jacket was secured inside the chaos, and Viktor nodded to himself. It wasn't the most beautiful nest, but it would do.

He turned around to Yuuri who was still watching him in fondness. "Beautiful, Viktor."


	5. Day 5: Heat / Rut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's, like, one or two paragraphs of heavily implied (can I call it that? maybe more like _'obviously alluded to'_ or _'very clearly happening but not explicitly shown'_ would fit better) very soft smut, but that- that's it, really. this is about _emotions_
> 
> (If you want to still skip it, it starts at "I could feed you, if you'd like." and is the following paragraph)

Viktor's heats left him in a mostly semi-lucid state where he could proudly say that he was mostly functional, if only incredibly aroused -- if needed, Viktor could leave the nest and find some safe place to hide, though his every instinct would scream at him and he'd be in confused turmoil for quite some time afterwards. It was only this semi-lucidness that kept him from jumping at Yuuri the second the alpha squeezed into his room, a tray with food and drink in hand.

Instead Viktor whined like a child and tried to clean out a small space in his nest that wasn't sticky with his fluids, patting it in hopes of having Yuuri join him, if only until his next wave started. The younger skater eyed the spot warily before he acquiesced with a fond huff, his scent pleasant and unhurried. Viktor could smell himself in the pores of the room, his natural scent of shaved ice and his pheromones that were thick and cloying, and he probably looked a mess, body flush with arousal and need.

"You have to eat, Viktor."

The omega knew that. It didn't mean that he had to like it even one bit. "But Yuuu _uuri_ , I'm not hungry."

Well, not for food, at least. His eyes roamed across Yuuri's torso, covered in a shirt, and Viktor licked his lips. Yuuri rolled his eyes, his own features flush from the heat-scent Viktor continuously released, but seemed in no need to hurry to leave as of yet. Instead he smiled, a honeyed expression of such indulgence that Viktor felt his heart leap and his breath hitch, and some small part of his mind currently not occupied with his heat and this gorgeous alpha in front of him cataloged it for inspiration. Yuuri would look ravishing on the ice with that look, a program that made him justice.

"I could feed it to you, if you'd like."

Bless him, but this man was going to kill Viktor; the omega felt himself twitch in interest, suddenly way too close to Yuuri for his own sanity, but he still agreed and let himself be finger-fed sliced pieces of fruit, his head pillowed on Yuuri's thigh, as the alpha's other hand carded through Viktor's hair. Viktor could see Yuuri straining through his pants quite clearly from his position, and before he had even realized it, he had shifted just enough to allow his hand access to himself, and then Viktor was panting into Yuuri's tight while he found his release, and by the time the actions caught up to his rational mind -- he and Yuuri had explicitly agreed to not share their current cycle because there were still things they had to talk about, and it would only complicate them, and at the time they had talked about it, Yuuri had not been eighteen yet, _and_ \-- Viktor was burning with shame at what he'd done.

Yuuri was murmuring soft words to him still, and with some more concentration they turned out to be soft praises, his hand still petting Viktor's head. _" 'm sorry,"_ he whispered, ashamed.

"No, hey. You don't have to be, Viktor." Yuuri was smiling at him, looking quite loopsided from Viktor's position. "I would have left otherwise. I'm not an idiot, you know?"

Then Yuuri set the tray down. "If I'm distracting you, just say so and I'll leave -- but I'm here for you."

Viktor thought about it, and about that terrifying first heat he's had in this room, when Yuuri had simply sat down at the foot of his bed and talked to Viktor, scenting the room and giving the omega a feeling of safety despite the circumstances being less than ideal. Viktor craved that; the reassurance and the closeness despite not sharing a heat or even the nest, and so he asked, voice small and strained, if Yuuri'd be willing to do so again for him.

He needn't have worried, because Yuuri easily agreed, ignoring his own flush as he excused himself for the time it took to bring the tray back to the kitchen and to warn his family, and then he rejoined Viktor in his room, more soft praises falling from his lips.

* * *

This has to have been one of the best heats Viktor's ever had, he though, leaning against the cool stone in the baths, his last wave having passed in the morning. Yuuri had stayed with him through all of it, and Viktor had never thought he could feel so satisfied with a heat which he hadn't shared.

…though, that was wrong, wasn't it? They _had_ shared Viktor's heat, they simply hadn't consumed it. A warmth that had nothing to do with the hot springs was curling through his body, and Viktor once again was reminded of how lucky he was, to be owned by someone like Yuuri.

And how unlucky others were, for whom the Omega Centre didn't find such a perfect match. He frowned, rising from the bath. Now that this was over, Viktor had some research to do about things he's had taken for granted all his life.

* * *

The next weeks were spent talking to Celestino and corresponding with the Detroit university, Viktor trying to decide on what modules he was interested in, while the media exploded around them and Hasetsu was filled with tourists and reporters that wanted _in_ on the scoop.

Yuuri was quite terrified, and Viktor felt very sorry, but at least one of the reporters seemed willing to listen and not throw accusations against them.

"That's Mooroka-san -- he's with TV Asashi."

"... he has a discount at the onsen?"

"He's a good man for being a reporter, surprisingly."

* * *

Somewhere between Yuuri graduating, the reporters leaving them alone and Viktor meeting with Yakov and the others in hugs and tears and promises to call, Viktor and Yuuri found themselves gravitating towards one another, like a moth to a flame, or better: two lovers in the same orbit. Their first kiss was shared under the rain at the store, Makkachin and Vicchan running around in the puddles, and it left both Yuuri and Viktor smiling like mad, whatever shackles Viktor had felt holding him down suddenly much lighter to bear with Yuuri at his side.

The press loved to talk about their relationship, about who of them was the omega, and Yuuri had let them, until Viktor's records were leaked from the Omega Centre a few days before they were ready to leave, and then, together with a blurry and out-of-context picture, they were bombarded with questions about how many children Viktor was pregnant with, and how many months along he was, and how some people of the internet would be _so much better alphas, Viktor._

They weathered the press and ignored it, only sent a formal inquiry to Mooroka if he'd be interested in giving an exclusive interview in the future, and left for Detroit with the Katsuki family, Minako and the Nishigoris at their back.


	6. Day 6: Bonding

Life in Detroit settled into some strange routine wherein Viktor and Yuuri were mostly left alone when on campus, simply known as _that alpha-omega couple that is couple goals,_ which was something Viktor found highly amusing and Yuuri tried to ignore it even existed. It was a refreshing change from what felt like half of the internet knowing about the forced bond, and while they had given Mooroka an interview that talked about some basics (such as setting the rumor to rest that Viktor was pregnant, which he very much was not, or the rumor that he'd been thrown out of the RSF because he was under the care of a foreign athlete -- the RSF was more than happy to take him back, to his surprise, and Viktor had found out through research that most of the higher-level officials detested having to give up young and promising omegas the second they presented, having lost everyone but Viktor before. It didn't paint the Omega Centre in a good light, to say the least), they didn't offer much more.

Viktor was simply happy to have escaped a nightmare of a life, was happy to have found Yuuri -- a part of him thought that, had Viktor been a beta and never had to experience the past hellish year, that they'd have met as competitors on the ice anyhow, and fallen in love.

Training under Celestino was different than under Yakov and Lilia; the alpha coach focused much more on footwork than on jumps, but he was surprisingly cordial in allowing Viktor to adapt some of his own training regimen for the other skaters. Yuuri took to it with determination, putting his impressive stamina to good use by backloading some of his jumps, and Viktor felt excitement bubbling up inside of him; between Yuuri, Chris and a newly-driven Gosha, the next season would be simply fantastic.

Viktor was slowly but surely getting his autonomy back with the help of Yuuri, their newly-acquired therapist Miss Linda Martin, and a few highly-lauded lawyers and detectives they set on the case. It would be probably years to come until Viktor (or any omega in his position, owned and probably stored away), could regain the kind of freedom he's had before being collared, but until then he would be happy about every step in the right direction they're making, even if it meant that he still has to wear a collar around his neck whenever he and Yuuri aren't in the same city.

Another new and welcome addition is Phichit Chulanont, a spitfire of a skater, still unpresented, declaring himself to become Yuuri's new best friend and taking the reluctant alpha around the city while Viktor and Celestino hammer out the details of their skating contract. Phichit is incredibly perceptive, and he somehow manages to deal better with Yuuri's anxiety than Yuuri and Viktor combined, for which both are extremely happy. He currently boards with Celestino and his wife, a headstrong alpha who manages to intimidate even Yakov, but Viktor and Yuuri have already decided to let him room with them once they found a pet-friendly apartment and the lease on their dorm room was over.

(Viktor very carefully does not think on old articles about the former Italian skater, or how his previous wife, an omega, had decided to take her own life a year or two into their bond. Celestino had sat Yuuri and Viktor down, had taken out his good whiskey, and silently told them what the media didn't know: Serena had been in the same boat as Viktor, having had to give up her autonomy for medicine for her younger sister, and before she had been gifted to Celestino by the Italian Omega Centre branch, she had spent almost a year in the care of the Centre. He had tried his best, he told them, to make her comfortable, but she never truly trusted him. It had seemed to get better, but after finding out that her sister died despite the medicine, she became catatonic. The coach had pursed his lips and glanced at Viktor, leaving the truth unsaid.

"I've met Francesca while I was going to counseling, bless that woman, and she helped me come to terms with it; that it hadn't -- that it hadn't been my fault."

And then they'd fallen in love along the line, he told them, and married and left for Detroit before a new omega could be assigned to Celestino. "And here we are, I guess. Whatever you two decide to do, you have my full backing as your coach and as someone who knows what it truly is like, Viktor. Yuuri.")

And as far as college goes -- both Viktor and Yuuri have decided to take dance classes together, and while Yuuri pursued his master, Viktor decided to try his hand as a conservatory music student, having enough skill and knowledge to befriend the professor teaching the course. He also met another student, alpha Ketty Abelashvili, who would go on and become one of their best friends in Detroit, going as far as composing pieces for Yuuri in the upcoming seasons.

What Viktor also took, after much internal debate, was a course aimed specifically at omegas like him, that was open for people outside of the university as well, amassing a full auditorium of omegas eager to share their stories and experiences alongside the presented material. It was fascinating and unbelievable to hear so many different, yet so painfully similar tales as his own, and sometime in the future Viktor will stand in front of an audience and cameras, with Yuuri by his side, and talk about the Omega Centre and what it forced him to do, all the while thinking of those lectures and people in the course.

But that was not now. Now, it was the beginning of the season, Viktor and Yuuri back in the field of competitive skaters. Now is the Grand Prix Final and a new gold medal for Viktor, Yuuri just short of fourth place but still incredibly happy and proud. Now is their respective Nationals, where Viktor has to wear a collar and is to be accompanied at all times by Yakov, Lilia or Gosha, who have gotten clearance by _omega rights_ that they are not detrimental to Viktor's mental and physical health, and where Yuuri competes half a day later at his own Nationals, winning gold and beating his personal best. Now is Europeans and Four Continents, where Viktor creates a new world record in his Free Skate and Yuuri takes bronze.

Now is Worlds and Yuuri just falling short of third place, Viktor with a gold medal held high as he grins and kisses the metal.

Now is them in Hasetsu, ready to take the dogs back to Detroit once their vacation is over.

But first, they were walking along the beach, the sun shining onto freshly fallen snow. "I can't believe it snowed yesterday. What are the odds, huh?" Viktor flashes a good-natured grin, happily trailing after his alpha, not yet having figured out what Yuuri had planned. They were walking towards the small, cliffside temple and away from the harbor, abandoned as the place was with the current weather. Yuuri's scent was surprisingly bitter, but Viktor couldn't for the life of him figure out what his sunshine was anxious about. Their season had gone well, after all, and in one or two more, Yuuri would be a top contender for the podium -- not that Viktor had planned on making it easy for him. He hummed simply, releasing his own comfort scent in hopes of calming Yuuri down, and the alpha glanced back at him and slowed down until they were next to one another, entwining their hands.

"I have a surprise planned for you, Vitya, so don't spoil it."

Viktor's grin melted into a happy, incredibly _sappy_ smile, heart-shaped and all, and he did his best to indicate it with his scent -- it seemed to work, judging by Yuuri's suddenly-flushed cheeks. Viktor's heat was about to start in two days, right on schedule, and his pre-heat was slowly but surely kicking in. Their cycles still weren't aligned properly, mostly because Viktor got his heat rarer than Yuuri fell into rut, but they didn't really care, simply happy to spend the time together.

They had finally reached the temple, an old and crumbling thing overgrown with moss and seashells and algae, but Yuuri simply led them inside until they were in the center, eyeing Viktor in appreciation before sinking onto his knees in one smooth motion, something small and blue held in his hands.

Viktor froze, entirely unprepared as he stared at Yuuri. The alpha blushed. "I know that this isn't tradition, but then we've both been around betas for far too long, and I thought that this felt right, and." He stopped and took a deep breath. "Will you marry me, Vitya? Be my mate -- my bondmate -- for now and the rest of our lives? Until we grow old and gray and have at least fifty poodle puppies to dote over?"

Viktor fell to his knees with an alarming twinge, his hands falling over Yuuri's as he tugged his… fiancé into a kiss, their lips crashing together in teeth and mouth, but he couldn't care less about it. Once he was sure that he'd kissed the living daylights out of Yuuri, Viktor leaned back, a disbelieving grin making his expression shine. "Yes! A thousand times _yes!"_

Yuuri laughed, removed one of the rings with shaking fingers. "They have a snowflake engraved in them," he explained, carefully sliding it onto Viktor's finger. The omega did the same and then marveled at their beauty, giddiness spreading through his body. "They are wonderful, Yuuri. _Solnyshko._ Thank you."

"Anything for you, lovely."

* * *

They bonded during Viktor's heat, full of laughter and joy and love, and when they had made their way back to Detroit with two dogs and two matching rings, Phichit sidled up to Ketty, grumbling.

"Pay up, Phi. You owe me twenty."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god I love Ketty, despite only appearing in one frame in the show. I imagine she's this sassy no-nonsense girl who Puts Up With Too Much Shit to really be fazed by anything.   
> Tomorrow's theme is free day, and I choose to write a what-if scenario of my own fic, go figure: _what it Viktor was a beta?_


	7. Day 7: Free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now let's take a look: what if Viktor was a beta instead of an omega? How would events play out?

Around the year of his eighteenth birthday, Viktor felt as if something groundbreaking would happen to him; something life-altering and incredible and unfathomable -- and then he'd ratified the Quad Flip and had blazed through his second year in Seniors, and grinned like mad.

* * *

Viktor Nikiforov was a beta; he had always expected to become one, even if most of his rinkmates and family always thought (hoped) that he'd be alpha. That Viktor would be one of those natural alpha leaders charming his way to the top of everything. It was absurd, as far as the Russian was concerned; an archaic belief in an archaic system that was still practiced to this day. Even if Viktor, as a beta, was unable to produce pheromones or any strong scent outside of his natural one, or even truly sense or smell ones produced by alphas and omegas, he was happy with his place in life, unburdened by heats and ruts and the other whatnots that came with having fully-developed scent glands. He didn't need any secondary to be the best at skating, anyway -- Viktor already was, his secondary shouldn't matter.

But here's the thing; the thing that annoyed Viktor and Christophe and Georgi to no end, and the thing that was thrown into Cao Bin's face every time the Chinese alpha shared his ice with them: male figure skating is -- paradoxically enough -- a sport that is seen as something typical _alpha_ , for no small reason but due to the previous champions all being strong and virile examples of the secondary. Viktor, being seen as part of the older generation at twenty-seven, had skated against and _won_ against them, multiple and countless times, and he'd set the new status quo for generations to come, where the unbeatable standard was not simply alpha strength and countless, sharp jumps, but something more omega too -- step-sequences and spins and thematic elements that wound through his skates like a fairy tale, captivating his audience. Viktor had managed to combine the best of both worlds in a way that left him at the top, even if he felt like something of a fraud, some of these days.

The press had loved to hound him about playing into either secondary strength on the ice, back when he'd not yet revealed his own. They had loved guessing what he was, and never truly seemed to think Viktor was a beta, because most betas were simply overlooked in the grand scheme of things. And then he'd revealed his secondary after the 2010 Olympics, and he'd broken the internet. Once again.

But the crux of the whole story is, Viktor is a beta, and he's proud of being a beta, so the fact that he was currently able to smell the distress scent radiating from the bathroom in front of him was a surprise. He would've simply walked past the unassuming room otherwise, but for even _him_ to be able to smell/sense it, whoever was inside must've been in a distraught state of mind.

Viktor opened the door after shooing Yuri Plisetsky off towards their coach and entered the bathroom, the door falling shut behind him with a soft clicking sound. The scent was undermined with hiccups and sobbing, and Viktor's face paled at the thought of having to _comfort_ someone. He was incredibly bad at it -- Viktor was generally bad at handling others in emotional states, not helped by the fact that, rare circumstances notwithstanding, he was unable to discern through scent if his attempts were helping or not. Or offer his own to help calm them down.

Instead he cautiously rapped at the door to the stall the noise was coming from. "Hello? Is everything all right?"

The sniffling stopped and the scent dissipated in the air, subtle enough so that Viktor was unable to pick it up once again, and for a hot second he'd hoped that Yura would've accompanied him, his unpresented nose able to still pick up the nuances (privately, Viktor thought that he'd be an alpha once he presented, like Mila had turned out to be), but then he shook off the thought, Yura comforting anyone in his teenaged rage even worse than Viktor himself.

Then the door opened and Yuuri Katsuki was eyeing Viktor with defeated eyes and a hunched-over pose, the scent glands that were visible at his wrists an angry red and quite swollen.

That could be either from an allergic reaction -- it also would, in Viktor's mind, explain Katsuki's abysmal performance earlier, if his skin was this irritated. Or, as was getting clearer by the second, the swelling was from Katsuki's pheromones and scent pushing past the mandatory high-grade athletic blockers in some desperate attempt at self-preservation.

"Vi-Viktor?"

Viktor's features softened. "Hey. I noticed your scent in the hallway. Can I-- is there anything I can help you with?"

Katsuki -- Yuuri -- squeezed his eyes shut, his grip tightening on his phone (he had a poodle print case!). Something like resolve steeled his frame, but almost as sudden as it had appeared, it vanished, leaving the skater staring blankly past Viktor. The beta frowned, not liking this reaction at all. "Great," Yuuri muttered. "So even a beta noticed."

Viktor frowned, not quite liking the implication in that sentence, but he choose to ignore it considering their current situation. "Hey, no. Come on, Yuuri -- I can call you Yuuri, right? We should get you out of the stall, I think. Wait; do you want some water? You look like you need some water." He paused. "Or maybe you should sit back down and I'll get you that water instead; I don't know what happened."

Yuuri was staring at him, mouth agape, and so Viktor fumbled with his pockets until he noticed that no, he didn't have his water with him. Yuuri noticed it as well, because something in him became more… grounded, Viktor could only call it that, and he smiled a feeble smile. "You're incredibly bad at this, you know?"

Viktor nodded, serious. "I have no clue what to do when people are crying in front of me. I'm trying my best." He cracked a grin. "But for real, now. What is Japan's Yuuri Katsuki doing in a bathroom stall when he should be holding interviews?"

Yuuri's mien darkened. "Interviews, hah. After that skate--" He bit his lips, his eyes growing unfocused and shiny, and Viktor froze, not knowing what to do if Yuuri decided to cry again. He tried to intervene.

"Everyone can have a bad day, you know? You did great in the short program, though -- it's a shame that you scored so bad." _Great going, Viktor. Rub it in that he's in last place. I wonder if he's one of the alpha or omega skaters who resent me for constantly winning._ "And I'm sure you'll do great at your Nationals this year; your step sequences are to die for."

Yuuri's eyes stopped their worryingly unfocused state, instead growing wide as he glanced at Viktor. "My step sequences are _what?!"_

_Oh god,_ Viktor thought, _he's cute._ Viktor grimaced mentally. Hitting on Yuuri now would be anything but desirable, but he couldn't help his imagination run wild at the thought of the Japanese skater in his arms -- or even better yet, in his hotel room, putting those thighs to good use. He'd have to get Yuuri out of the bathroom first, though.

Maybe getting some cold water onto his irritated skin would be a good first step. Viktor held out his hand and motioned with his head to one of the sinks. "It's true -- anyways, how about you cool off some? I can't imagine your skin feels too good right now."

Yuuri seemed to freeze for a moment until Viktor's words registered, and he glanced down at his exposed wrists, one of his hands disappearing to the nape of his neck, wincing. "Yeah, yeah -- that sounds pretty good, I guess." He didn't take Viktor's hand, which was a shame, but he shrugged out of his jacket at the betas prompting, setting it and his phone down next to the sink, Viktor hovering behind him in worry.

Yuuri hissed in relief as the cold water hit his skin and Viktor winced in sympathy -- he may not have fully developed scent glands, but he remembered getting sick as a kid and getting the swelling once, before his body changed to that of a beta. And he's heard Mila complain about it more than once, how she was allergic to the prescribed blockers, and that she always had to complain to the RSF representative that they had to give her a different formula.

And Yuuri was doing nothing but holding his hands in the water, and Viktor's own were itching to do something other than stand around and look pretty, so he gently took one into his own and begun massaging at the scent gland, eyeing Yuuri in mild uncertainty. "Is this okay?"

He nodded, lost for words, a blush spreading across his cheeks. "You don't have to; it's not the first time it's happened."

"I'm not going to leave you alone like this, Yuuri."

Yuuri's blush deepened. "I-I'm not an omega, it's not going to trigger a fake pre-heat or anything. You probably have more important stuff to do than look after me."

Viktor frowned but stored away the information -- so Yuuri was an alpha, then. "Regardless of your secondary, I'm not going to leave you alone when you're this distressed. You'll be stuck with me for the foreseeable future."

They fell silent after that, the only sound the running water as Viktor took Yuuri's other wrist and kneaded at the skin until the swelling went down. He was about to let the hand go when an idea struck him, and he gently tugged it towards his lips, kissing the spot tenderly, watching Yuuri blush even more. "... how about we get you some fresh air, hm? Yuuri."

Yuuri shuddered but nodded.

* * *

They stayed in contact, Viktor practically forcing himself onto Yuuri with texts and calls and messages, feeling that something special had bloomed in the space between the bathroom and the outside of the skating arena, indescribable and beautiful.

Yuuri seldom answered at first, but over time he opened up, telling Viktor more and more things about himself and the people he loved, confiding his insecurities, and Viktor found himself doing the same, telling Yuuri about his lack of inspiration and his desire for change, not knowing what to do with himself. If he should go into coaching or not. And Yuuri told him how he missed Hasetsu and his family, about how he wasn't sure if Celestino was still the best coach for him.

They talked and talked, their competitions passing while they did, and around Four Continents Viktor asked Yuuri tentatively if he'd be interested in taking Viktor on as a coach, because hadn't the beta already been helping Yuuri with his programs anyways, and didn't they simply work well together? Viktor would've understood if Yuuri said no, considering he had no expertise in the subject, and it could be seen as insulting, but the alpha had readily agreed once he's made sure that it truly was what Viktor had wanted.

And then Worlds rolled around, Viktor winning gold and Yuuri finishing fifth place, behind Chris, Otabek Altin and Cao Bin, the latter's last season, and instead of going back to Russia he and Yuuri stayed in Japan, taking a plane and train to Hasetsu. There had been something unspoken lingering between them, something they didn't really want to discuss over the phone, and as Yuuri introduced him to his family as someone "Important to me," Viktor felt anticipation buzzing underneath his skin.

The Katsukis were all lovely people, a family of betas with soft smiles and -- in the case of Mari -- a humored and wry grin sent Yuuri's direction Viktor has yet to decipher the meaning of, and Viktor felt immediately at home.

That night Yuuri sneaked into his room and sat down on Viktor's bed and they had talked, and the words "are you sure that you'd not rather want an omega instead of a beta?" had escaped Viktor's lips. It had been the scariest thing he's ever forced himself to ask, because Yuuri was a young and strong alpha who'd surely one day want a family of his own, and that was something Viktor couldn't provide him. Yuuri had flinched, momentarily freezing in his spot, before he had shaken his head and hugged him, trembling.

(Such a strange reaction.)

"It was always only you, Viktor. There's been no one I've ever wanted but you."

(In the days to come, they'd be known as _Yuuri-kun and his incredibly affectionate foreign boyfriend Vicchan._ Viktor loved every minute of it.)

* * *

Then it was already the Grand Prix Final, and Viktor had already talked with Yakov about his desire to continue the rest of the season after all ("Don't jump it on him, Vitya, Yakov is a good man who doesn't deserve it."). Now they were back in their hotel room after an exciting day of exploring Barcelona, newly-gotten ring catching the light in all the right places as Viktor stared at it in giddy happiness, having thrown himself first-thing onto the bed.

"I want forever with you," Yuuri had confessed to him, not even five hours earlier, on the steps of a beautiful church with a choir in the background. They couldn't bond like an alpha-omega or alpha-alpha or omega-omega pair, betas being unable to produced the necessary pheromones for it to truly last outside of the duration of Yuuri's ruts, as the mark would simply fade and the pseudo-bond dissipate into nothing.

Viktor had choked back tears and replied _you have me, forever and always,_ and then his Yuuri had grinned a wry smile and replied with "stay close to me and never leave," and both had started grinning like loons, both of their minds on Yuuri's upcoming exhibition piece and how it would break the internet. Again.

Viktor kissed the ring, feeling the metal warm under his lips, and only stopped once he saw Yuuri walk over to him with a fond smile on his face and a towel flung haphazardly around his hips. "It wont disappear if you stop looking at it, lovely."

Viktor grinned up at his _fiancé_. "I know, but still -- better safe than sorry, no?"

Yuuri rolled his eyes and sat down at the edge of the mattress, twining their fingers together. "You're unbelievable," he muttered, but leaned down to peck Viktor fondly on the lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aand that's it! Thank you everyone who followed along with my omegaverse week fic, and I'm so glad that so many people liked it! I wanted to write a deconstruction of some of the common tropes found while still having it feel like an A/B/O story, and _boy, am I glad how it turned out!_


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